{"id":23725,"date":"2025-11-10T07:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/caught-you-samsung-phones-targeted-for-spyware-attack-using-whatsapp-images-tech-news\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T07:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T07:09:12","slug":"caught-you-samsung-phones-targeted-for-spyware-attack-using-whatsapp-images-tech-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/caught-you-samsung-phones-targeted-for-spyware-attack-using-whatsapp-images-tech-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Caught You: Samsung Phones Targeted For Spyware Attack Using WhatsApp Images | Tech News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"story-9695793\">\n<p><span class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-4143937483\">Last Updated:<\/span><time class=\"jsx-395e0e0beb19cb6e jsx-4143937483\">November 10, 2025, 12:18 IST<\/time><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"asubttl-9695793\" class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328 asubttl-schema\">Samsung flagship phones were exposed to a major security risk that made it possible to infect the devices with dangerous spyware<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artsharwrp\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news18.co\/gnps-en-btn\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"jsx-91f4da8d48c13a79 gglebtn bgorg\"\/><\/p>\n<div id=\"artshare\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b artshare\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b stickdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b deskwrapstkdiv\">\n<div class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b fontchange\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/font.svg\" height=\"30px\" width=\"30px\" alt=\"font\" title=\"font\" class=\"jsx-cc1b15cf85effb8b lazyload\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328\">\n<figure class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328 amimg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Samsung Galaxy S phones in the regions were targeted with a spyware\" title=\"Samsung Galaxy S phones in the regions were targeted with a spyware\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2021\/07\/1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=400&amp;height=225\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Samsung Galaxy S phones in the regions were targeted with a spyware<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Samsung users have been the target of a dangerous spyware campaign that can be activated just by clicking on an image in WhatsApp. The new report comes via a cybersecurity firm who claims the victims in the Middle East were the main target with this campaign and the worrying part is that nobody knew about the attacks for months. <\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The details from Unit 42, part of Palo Alto Networks, has mentioned the spyware called Landfall which has been moving across devices hiding in plain sight within regular images that are being sent through WhatsApp region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\"><strong>The WhatsApp Zero-Day Bug Issue<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Using images to plant spyware can be easy and harmless because you don\u2019t have to click any suspicious links, or having to install an app that can bypass the security on the device. These hackers found a zero-day bug that made it easy for them to exploit the issue and just as you open an image the spyware sneaks into the system and does its work covertly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The firm has codenamed the vulnerability as CVE-2025-20142 which seems to have affected the image gallery on Samsung devices. It says the hackers used Digital Negative (DNG) image files that were being tagged as regular JPEGs and they were transmitted through WhatsApp which raises no alarm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"5\" class=\"story_para_5\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\"><strong>Samsung Phones Targeted: Who Is At Risk?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The report says some of the latest Samsung devices, including the foldables have been the target for the spyware campaign that can be used to gather details such as calls, get access to photos and messages on the device, and even use the microphone covertly to listen to the conversations. <\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">This is very similar to the Pegasus spyware that was also infiltrating WhatsApp on iPhones over the last few years. However, the Landfall spyware has mostly spread across countries like Turkey, Iran, Morocco and Iraq among others. These Samsung devices could have been attacked:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"listOncontentArticleUL\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight:400\">Galaxy S22<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Galaxy S23<\/li>\n<li>Galaxy S24<\/li>\n<li>Galaxy Z Fold 4<\/li>\n<li>Galaxy Z Flip 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"9\" class=\"story_para_9\"><span style=\"font-weight:400\">The company first detected the threat in mid-2024 and only informed Samsung around September last year. While the brand was only able to issue a patch for the risk in April this year. This big gap between reporting and fixing is not ideal, especially when you have millions of premium devices susceptible to covert hacking threats. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atawrap\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atadetailwrp\">\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd ataname\"><span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atthumb\"><\/p>\n<figure class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"S Aadeetya\" title=\"S Aadeetya\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/ibnlive\/uploads\/2023\/11\/aadeetya-3-2023-11-9de48efa65a9ed8ed13a8932cadb6d5a.jpg?impolicy=website&amp;width=60&amp;height=60\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd attitle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/byline\/s-aadeetya-21044.html\" class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd atamail\">S Aadeetya<\/a><\/p>\n<p>S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr&#8230;<span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr&#8230;<!-- --> <span class=\"jsx-95088aad1b3c53cd aurpdebtn\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328 atbtlink fp\"><span>First Published:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"rs\">\n<p>November 10, 2025, 12:18 IST<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328 brdcrmb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/tech\/\">tech<\/a>  <span class=\"brdout\"> Caught You: Samsung Phones Targeted For Spyware Attack Using WhatsApp Images<\/span><\/div>\n<div id=\"coral-wrap\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f \">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coral-cont\">\n<div class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f coltoptxt\">Disclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"jsx-c9f81425ec968c48 jsx-408069328 rmbtn news18_read_more\">Read More<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/tech\/caught-you-samsung-phones-targeted-for-spyware-attack-using-whatsapp-images-9695793.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:November 10, 2025, 12:18 IST Samsung flagship phones were exposed to a major security risk that made it possible to infect the devices with dangerous spyware Samsung Galaxy S phones in the regions were targeted with a spyware Samsung users have been the target of a dangerous spyware campaign that can be activated just&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tezgyan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}